New Beer Sunday (Week 654)

Hey everyone, hope your weekends are going well. Trekked up to Chicago to visit family and having a couple beers while the roast smokes. Here's the first new one for today.

Keweenaw U.P. Witbier



3.35/5 rDev -6.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Poured from a 12 ounce can. Not sure on date.

Look- Pours a soft golden/light orange color with a nearly non-existent white head.

Smell- Orange smell, slightly boozy smell as well.

Taste- Again the orange comes first, with a citrus finish.

Feel- Definitely a lighter beer with a crisp feel.

A nice refreshing beer. Nothing special, but it's definitely something I could drink a few.

 

3.3/5 rDev -13.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

A: Pours a dark red color with a quick disapearing cream head. Head quickly goes away leaving only a small rim. No lacing

S: Nothing stands out for a specific smell. Getting a small amount of spice and malt but nothing stands out.

T: Taste seems flat. Picking up a slight marzen style and minimal pilsner malt taste.

M: Very thin and flat tasting.

O: Not very good. May be a bad batch or need some age, but this doesn't meet the standards Marshall puts up typically.

 

Back with another post lunch beer. Untitled Art Milkshake IPA.

It pours a turbid looking yellow with a 2.5 finger foamy white head that fades slowly into a ring and leaves webs of lacing. Aroma is a mix of light citrus notes, fresh strawberries and cream. The flavor is a combination of strawberry and orange rind with some bitterness. It is good, but a little distracting. There are a also some lactose and melon notes. Feel is medium and bubbly with nice carbonation. Overall a flavorful and interesting IPA

 

Looks good! I must have missed that release when I was out of for ten days. Damn!

 

Happy New Beer Sunday BAs!

Today's new brew is from Hudson Valley Brewing in NY

Name:
Hyperlight IPA - canned 8/22/17

Specs:
DDH IPA w/ raw wheat & malted oat, hopped w/ Citra & Mosaic powder.

Thoughts:
Amazing!

 

Happy Labor Day weekend NBS players. A pretty wet and grey day here on the island but the sun seems to be making a good fight to appear. Hate to say it but looks like fall has come on rather quickly here. Temps have plummeted, acorns are everywhere, and the daylight has started to fade way to fast. Hoping for a warm up and at least another day or two at the beach but we shall see. Today I'm doing absolutely nothing. Watching baseball, maybe a movie, and knocking back a bunch of beers.

I have a few new beers today but we'll have to see how committed I am to doing reviews today. My first new beer today is Regular Legs, ipa, from Moustache brewing. It's brewed with calypso and belma hops and double dry hopped with el dorado, belma, motueka, columbus, and mandarina bavaria. The brew checks in at 6.4% abv and has a canning date of 8/30/17.

A hazy amber pour with nice blonde lighting. A rather lively nose with a mix of fruit and hops. A rather herbal and bitter hoppy tone on the first few sips. A pretty smooth and fruity flow that finishes pungently bitter. The fruit notes are a bit more subtle than I had expected with a sort of sweet candied quality to them. I get melon, pineapple, grape, and a sort of berry flavor. It all mixes together with a sort of bitter, herbal, and spicy pine flavor. The mouth feel is on the moderate side. The flavors are very strong and the beers seems to drink a lot bigger than it's abv.

Overall, a different take on style and while I wouldn't say it's my favorite from them the brew does deliver a strong and flavorful experience. I'm in the 3.5/4 range here.

 

Trout Town Brown at the Bethel Woods Harvest Fest
Pretty tasty stuff. Quite hoppy for a brown ale, and the cocoa and caramel take a back seat. Dry and bitter, with generous spicy citrus hops blending well with the base beer. It gets better the more I acclimate to the bitterness, and I quite enjoyed the last few sips. B+ (3.75)

 

Picked it up at TW, apparently it's distro'd here now

 

2 new beers this Sunday, both are DIPA's and both are from Twin Elephant Brewing. Both are brewed with Oats both are hazy and both are very good beers. Stay true is 8.5 ABV and was put on tap Friday . False Data is 8.2 ABV and was put on tap Saturday. Served n pints side by side they look very much like each other. They don't taste like each other. False Data is hopper and slightly bitter. Stay True is malty and a bit sweet. Both brew are enjoyable but a pint of each is enough for one afternoon.

 

New NEIIPA Sunday (Week 654)
Greetings fellow NBSers from on the ridge in Mid Hud Val, NY. Dreary and chill are the words of the weather today here. Low clouds are still spitting fine misty rain that are the remnants of the beast that attacked Texas, now in its well deserved death throes but not going out without protest.

Don't you love it when you pull the tab on a can and immediately the room fills with hop aromas? Well I sure do, and this Harvester Of Simcoe by Equilibrium has done it admirably.

Pic makes it look a touch darker than it is but that thick haziness is not an illusion. It is murky but without chunks. A swirl puts righteous lacicles on the glass.

Full strength aroma and then some. Sweet grapefruit, soft pine, mango, a kinda thick sweetness to it, and some hints of floral add up to a remarkable bouquet.

Very full flavored with orange and grapefruit leading the way. Lightest caramel and neutral sweet come along for the ride, joined by mango, and the pine of the nose now is a bit more pointed and has some herbal accompaniment to end the sip dry.

Full bodied, low carb., highly viscous, excellent finish and despite these things it is still very refreshing.

Another blast of hop artistry from the new kids on the block, Equilibrium Brewery. They have this style nailed, and if it's at all possible I suggest you get some of this immediately.

Hope you also have a Great American Beer in your glass. Cheers!

 

Good afternoon NBS, Thanks @lordofthewiens for the start today, I appreciate the historical backdrop, Today was a brew day here in WMass, so that means cleaning, cleaning, brewing, cleaning, and preparing for the next brew day, which means cleaning. The all grain ESB is in the fermenter and now we keep it at temp and wait.
Today's offering is from Jackie O's, this is the second Saison fermented in stainless, really like the clean, crisp feel, very hard to hide any flaws on such a canvas. There is a delightful spicy part, that I just adore.
Cheers all


Off The Beaten Path 1

Jackie O's Pub & Brewery
Saison / Farmhouse Ale / 5.50% ABV

4.16/5 rDev 0% | Avg: 4.16
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a recently purchased bottle marked 2017 into the test glass.
A - Spring day in a glass, bright yellow sun in crisp air colored, excited carbonation piles skyward, forming a cumulus tower of white froth.
S - Dusty chalk blends seamlessly with lemon verbana, green grass, earthy funk, and Bosc pear skin.
T - Lemon, and chalk, the edge of Brie skin and fabulous white pepper spice, exceptionally clean in presentation.
M - Light on the palate, that carbonation works it like a runway model, starts a bit tart and leaves a sweet calling card. A spicy thread runs through the experience, whether from the deft use of Rye or the mixed cultures. The finish is very dry and quite quenching.
O - Now this is a Saison to seek out,displaying the elements from the classic Europeans but with the stainless conditioning creating a very transparent experience. The white pepper, meets lemongrass meets a hint of funk is exceptional.

 

That's odd. Cheers!

 

Good afternoon, all, and Happy New Single Hop IPA Sunday! Thank you to @lordofthewiens for that history lesson. Here's what I want to know: If it's called Labor Day when you get the day off, what's it called when you have to work? I'll be picking up the slack for all of you guys and gals who are spending the day drinking and grilling out and lounging at poolside and all that. I hope you all have fun. (Boy, that felt good. ) Now on to the beer: Stone Hop Revolver IPA - Ella. First time with anything from the Hop Revolver series, maybe because they're (technically) available only in mix packs. Bottle date on this is 6/15/17. The hop aromas and flavors are quite subtle at this point, but still a very good beer. Stone rarely disappoints (Your Father Smelt of Elderberries notwithstanding).


3.81/5 (rDev -2.1%)
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Review here.

 

Beer #2. Went with a slow sipper for the second one, let it take it's time like the ribs are.

Dogfish Head Oak-Aged Vanilla World Wide Stout. I will admit to a little trepidation at first because of the comments about this being a hot beer. Can't say my experience reflected that, a little alcohol heat but certainly not overpowering.

Pours a thick, black color with minimal head that fades away quickly. Smells of vanilla, oak, molasses, and dark chocolate. Chocolate flavor up front and throughout, Vanilla, fudge, milk chocolate, and molasses flavors all make an appearance. Alcohol is present throughout, adding a little heat but not overwhelming the flavors. Full bodied beer. Overall it's solid and tasty, goes right to the edge with the alcohol but brings a lot of flavor with it. Definitely a slow sipper but worth the time.

 

Sounds like a great side trip!

 

Adroit Theory EBK - NE Style DIPA



First thing to notice is that it isn't that turbid, OJ looking beer. It is attractive, as it's a hazy pale yellow with a solid perfectly foamy off white head. Nose is pretty much dead on with that NE thing, as it's dank with a bit of like, tangerine and a nice malt presence. Taste is a big mouth punch of tangerine garlic bitter with a little sweetness in the shape of caramel. It doesn't really play out as hot, but it's weird because you feel like all the elements are there, just nothing like alcohol heat or astringency. It's in the body and the sweetness I guess, but obviously well masked. Pretty thick bodied, and a menacing aftertaste that matches the taste instead of leaning too sweet. I'm usually a fan of what these guys put out, and this is no exception. Great taste and a no nonsense feel.

 

Hey NBS! I have tomorrow's Labor Day holiday off (and paid) due to putting in some overtime at work over the last few weeks. Some great paychecks upcoming plus a long weekend/short week? I'll take it!

My first beer (out of two) today is Weyerbacher's 22nd Anniversary ale.



I don't know much about this one other than that it's strong as fuck and is brewed with spices (vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and orange peel). I've heard from several people that it is "inspired by French toast," so I guess we'll see how they do with that concept.

Pours a deep garnet/brownish hue with a thin yet semi-retentive head of beige foam consisting of microbubbles constantly being buoyed by expressive and aggressive carbonation rising from the bottom of my glass. Great color on this one, and I like that it isn't a dirty/dingy beer. Though the head only has minimal structure after a few minutes in my glass, the carbonation looks really active. Interesting stuff!

The scent of this beer is heavily malty and almost smoky, with some clove-like phenolic notes, a lot of sweet orange peel and cinnamon. Don't get much of the vanilla and the nutmeg feels a little like an afterthought (or perhaps it's just blending in with everything else here), but the malt elements here are quite heady and may be occulting things for all I know. There's some Belgian-like dark fruit esters, but I'm not exactly sure if this uses Belgian yeast or not. Could be, as it kind of reminds me of Tiny (Weyerbacher's "Belgian stout") in a sense.

On the tongue, it's cinnamon-forward with toffee, caramel, bready malts and some sweeter notes which could be the vanilla finally pulling its weight toward the finish. The yeast really feels flat, dusty and boring here, though, and its influence pervades the whole palate. I've had issues with Weyerbacher's yeast before, but I feel like it causes the most issues with beers that are intended to have nuanced flavors from spices or whatnot. Some of the flavors come out prominently for part of each sip, and then they just seem to get lost. Alcohol heat has a pretty similar presence to most Weyerbacher ales over 8%; that is to say, this is fairly hot. I assume some aging would help this beer integrate a bit, but you might also lose some of the spice elements along the way. Feel is medium-heavy with a massaging carbonation and a rather-thick, nearly-cloying aspect towards the final moment of each sip-and-swallow. Glad I only got one of these, as it's kind of a confusing and weird product, even for these guys. Doesn't remind me of French toast, but I guess I can kind of see where they were going with the idea. It's alright, overall.



Back soonish (after laundry, most likely) with my second (and last) new beer for today... a cherry sour from a local-ish brewery!

 

Had a few new brews today, figured I'd put them all under one post:

New Russian Imperial Stout Sunday: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/33530/190704/?ba=bluejacket74#review




And a new American Double Stout Sunday: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1432/243557/?ba=bluejacket74#review





And then finished up my new brews with a tasty Pumpkin Ale: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/3818/249893/?ba=bluejacket74#review



Cheers everyone!

 

Quick stop at the local shop for some supplies and found a new beer on the board.

This is Elysian Night Owl - a spiced pumpkin beer. Labor Day weekend might be a little early for the style, but why not?

Really clean and solid pumpkin flavor and aroma. Very enjoyable and something I would pick up again.



Poured on draft at local bottle shop

A: Clear light golden brown with 1-2 finger white head. Decent retention and lacing.

S: Cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice.

T: Pumpkin pie but not overly sweet. All of the spices you would expect with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger with plenty of pumpkin.

M: Medium to light body with average carbonation.

O: Very nice light pumpkin beer. This style is normally hit or miss with me and this is a hit.

 

Good late afternoon/early evening NBSers. We decided with the long weekend to hit a relatively new brewery out of the city that I added to the DB back in May. There's only two repeat beers on tap, so that left right to perfectly fill out two tasting flights:


I added the one photo to "prove" it was a farm brewery. We took the flight more or less like you'd expect, light to dark. The first few offerings were style benders, as they used local farm ingredients on top of base offerings. They herbs came out prominently in the beers, making them more herb/spiced/fruited beers than their base styles. The pictured "Hefeweizen" I added as an herbed beer because there was nothing "Hefe" about it, in my mind.

As we got to the more amber and darker beers, the beers started feeling more familiar to style. The Schwartzbier was nicely done and the tangerine IPA was decent, and while the coffee black IPA seemed like a nice straight porter, it was tasty as such.

The one that grabbed me was a spicy Vienna lager (which could probably go into that spiced category). It is called La Ganja Cerveza, and is pictured below:


This has a nice deep amber red clay look of many a Vienna. It's clarity is obvious, and the carbonation sustains a thin collar but not too much else.

Perhaps as I get into the nose I should note this beer has lime, salt, and chile de árbol in the mix (though to read the menu, it's the zests of the salt and lime... I'll correct this when I add the notes, as I'm not sure what the zest of salt would taste like - probably salty).

So, yes, I get lime, salt, and green pepper flesh that has a hint of sweetness to it. The malts of this Vienna add an interesting toasted bread aspect that plays in the background, keeping this from seeming more like a Gose.

Taste follows, with the salt and lime opening this beer with a slightly soapy flavor - thanks to the GF for that description that is now stuck with me. She wasn't wrong, but while is was a total put off for her, I could live with it. The heat from the chiles comes on fairly strong, but does not cross that threshold into killing my palate. I could see some thinking this is spicy (I don't mind spicy food but am far from a spice nut, so I like a noticeable moderate heat). Pepper flesh adds a vegetal aspect to the back of the taste.

I do still get a Mexican lager with lime as the base for the chile to springboard off of. The salt is an interesting choice, and I wonder if they should cut the amount or remove it all together to take this up a notch and perhaps ditch the soapy note that turned off the GF.